The wave of Gen-Z protests that swept Nepal earlier this month and forced the resignation of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli was “entirely homegrown” and bore no trace of outside interference, says veteran diplomat Vijay Kanta Karna.
Karna, Nepal’s former ambassador to Denmark and a noted expert on India-Nepal relations, told StratNews Global from Kathmandu that the international community should help safeguard Nepal’s fragile democratic process in the aftermath of the upheaval.
“I don’t think there is any foreign elements involved in this case, this is entirely homegrown,” Karna said in a videoconference interview. “It was surprising even for me that students from Class 8–12, undergraduates who don’t even vote, came onto the streets. This is a revolt against corruption, loot, and years of misrule by all major political parties.”
The protests, which erupted on 9 September, saw demonstrators storm and torch government buildings including the federal Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the prime minister’s residence. As violence escalated and demands for his ouster grew, Oli stepped down the same day, ending the communist government’s rule.
Karna, who now heads the Centre for Social Inclusion and Foreign Policy, a Kathmandu-based think tank, said Nepal’s two powerful neighbours — India and China — should back the Himalayan nation in holding “free and fair elections” as the next step forward.
Following negotiations between protest leaders and the Army Chief, former Chief Justice of Nepal Sushila Karki was sworn in as interim prime minister on 12 September.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became one of the first world leaders to speak with Karki. A readout from India’s Ministry of External Affairs later said, “Prime Minister conveyed India’s readiness to continue working closely to further strengthen the special ties between the two countries and India’s full support to Nepal in its efforts towards restoring peace and stability, and for the progress of the people of Nepal.”
Still, questions remain about the legitimacy of the interim government, given the extralegal process by which it came into being. Its ability to deliver stability and address entrenched corruption and economic mismanagement is also uncertain.
President Ramchandra Paudel has already dissolved Parliament and set a deadline of March 6, 2026, for fresh elections. But Karna doubts polls can be held so soon.
“It is not possible in six months. There are some practical reasons,” he said. “To create a functional government at district, local, provincial and national level — the authorities who actually conduct elections — you need time. Judges must be seated in courts. It takes two to three months just to create a functional government. We don’t have a proper one at the moment.”
Karna estimated that it would take at least eight to nine months before credible elections could be organised.
Nepal on 17 September observed a national day of mourning to honour the 72 people killed during the protests.
For now, the interim government has managed to restore a tenuous calm, but the deeper question remains: can it survive long enough to deliver the clean governance and stability that Nepal’s restless Gen-Z is demanding?
